Hugo Stiglitz wrote:I haven't commented much on Bylsma because I think it's pointless to really do so anymore. I'm not happy with him. He's a good coach, I won't take that away from him, but he's not the coach this team needs anymore. He's an excellent coach if the players brought in are ones that fit into his system. A truly excellent great coach is one who understands what he has to work with and builds his system around that.

I honestly think so many people are getting carried away by the philly series - we haven't gotten over it either.

how can one blame HCDB for a bad system when the players didn't follow it? you can blame the coach for losing control of the team -- but he isn't on the ice and he isn't making the split second decisions. he wasn't lovejoy throwing the puck across the crease, he wasn't duper carrying (and losing) the puck up ice shorthanded with a few seconds left, he wasn't MAF letting soft goals in (side note: i don't blame 29 at all - he just played too many games this year. our new backup will be a very welcome addition). the philly series was over at the end of game 1. the flyers were in the players heads and they went out there and played like immature raving lunatics. i think we had some bad luck, i think the flyers caught some breaks, i think a long season wore on our goaltender and i think the players were filled with so much hate for their opponent that they flew off the rails. i honestly think it is that simple.

HCDB deserves the blame for not keeping his player's heads on straight -- that much is certain. the "system" though - that never got a real change to get going. i am glad bylsma will be back - i think shero made the right move showing confidence in him. i will keep him on a short(er) leash during the season but really, what has happened over the last few years to make one believe the regular season will be an issue?

that right there is the crux...

so many of us are saying he doesn't know how to coach - that he gets outdone by his opponent behind the bench. really? really? playoffs ramp up the intensity but we should dismiss the fact that he doesn't know what he is doing. he did win a cup, one FHCMT may not have gotten. he has overachieved when the team was left for dead (and i'm not talking about last year guys...how many of you threw in the towel this year).

if you go back in time to the night before game 1 of this year's playoffs and someone told you the pens were going to win - i am sure every one of you would be high on the disco dan bandwagon. that alone shows how much this loss stings -- one series (forget tampa and montreal) -- turned so many of you around. one series!

anyway - not too much to really say other than we gotta move on...

Regular season means nothing, just finish in the top 8 and get to the playoffs, a trained monkey could get this team to the playoffs.Since he put in his "system", they've won one playoff series in three years, that's bad any way you slice it.

It's not like other teams completely alter their playing style and system once they get into the playoffs. The Pens have obliterated some of the best teams in the league in March playing their style. Their trouble started when they got away from it.

That's really the key right there. I can't speak for anyone else, but it seemed as clear as daylight to me that the majority of the roster decided to give up working in the defensive zone once Sid returned full-time...they all wanted in on the scoring parade.

Malkamaniac wrote:lol this major quote from him can't even admit that his system failed and he did nothing to adjust.

Perhaps Bylsma is one of the LGP posters who blames the whole collapse on Fleury alone?

Certainly not Fleury alone. But MAF was AWEFUL! HORRIBLE! SUCKED! If he even played with mediocrity for him, they likely advance.

This is the kind of stuff I just simply don't get. You agree that it wasn't him alone, but then say that if he played mediocre, we advance? Did you really think the Flyers just barely squeaked past us and if Flower had made 5-6 more key saves...we win that series? Our defensive core was eaten alive by Flyers forecheckers in our zone, and our forwards (sans Staal and Neal) did about as little defensive work as possible. While it's 100% a given that Fleury played very bad in that series, I really don't see us winning it even if he'd played lights-out goaltending.

Well, if one of them was in game 1 then we at least push this to game 7 and I like our chances. Not that even if we did advance we would have done any real damage with the way the rest of the team was playing.

Dan lost control of his players, after a that game 1 loss, really for us to lose our composure like that was awful, we didn't have a Billy G to say the rght things in the dressing room, Dan went through the game plan, but he should of been asking them if their heads were screwed on right, The players blew games 2 and 3 on their won by fighting and playing like babies.

The entire organization was bad! Bet let's be honest Philadelphia was much better. The Pens need to complement the skill with some grit. The Penguins don't have the guys that can forecheck consistently . Also hate to say it because I love the guy, but Orpik looked old and slow against Philadelphia. A major overhaul may not be too far away, and the minor league cupboard is starting to look very average.

The first three games were just the perfect storm of them playing well, and us playing like ****.

I think some of us may get offended when too much blame is put on the coach, or our goalie, or a particular player - when in reality, just about everyone and every aspect was terrible in those 4 losses.

For me though, the most dissapointing was how easily our team became unraveled - and that the Pens took stupid penalties for the first 5 games, despite doing alot of talking about how they wouldn't be drawn into stupid penalties prior to, and all throughout this series.

Gaucho wrote:It's not like other teams completely alter their playing style and system once they get into the playoffs. The Pens have obliterated some of the best teams in the league in March playing their style. Their trouble started when they got away from it.

Well, they also goth obliterated themselves too, no? Everyone wants to cling to the winning streak which is fine, but we had poor stretches as well, got beat badly in some games towards the end of the season and our season turned even worse when Ottawa, the islanders, and the flyers put the blueprint out to not be afraid of the pens and attack them, stretch passes, crossing break out etc.

Once the pens adjusted teams started chipping the breakout off the glass and working them over. I don't know if it's the system or the lack of talent in spots or the lack of grit in spots or the players fitting the system or a combination.